Welcome, once again, to the next chapter of HP: Path of Trials! As we get further into the book, and series, I extend my thanks to those who have continued to read it. Knowing there are people who enjoy reading what I post is truly an honor. I will do my best to continue updates until the very end. Also:
Disclaimer: I own no part of HP save for my OC's.
Now, here's...
Chapter 25: A Heartbreaking Scene
Enjoy, dear readers!
Early the next morning, Marcus got changed into his workout clothes and made his way to the Room of Requirement. Once he was inside, he saw that Cedric was already starting to stretch.
"Morning, Cedric," said Marcus.
Cedric looked over and said, "Morning, Marcus! Ready to get back into the swing of things?"
"Oh, most definitely," said Marcus. "I can't wait to see what tonight's training is going to entail."
"Me neither," said a voice coming from the entrance.
Marcus looked to see -
"Good morning, Lorelei," said Marcus.
Lorelei gave a small smile as she said, "Good morning, Marcus." Looking between them both, she said, "Before we begin, how was everyone's time at the ball?"
"Oh," said Marcus. "Er - not bad, I suppose. Cedric?"
"I had a great time with Cho Chang," said Cedric with a wide smile.
"And did I hear right that you're her new boyfriend, Cedric?" Lorelei asked with a mischevious smile.
"Ah, as expected of Hogwarts' gossiping network," said Cedric. "Yes, it is true."
"Well, congrats, Cedric! Ms. Chang sounds like a really nice person!"
"That she is," said Cedric. "What about you, Marcus?"
"Huh?"
"I've heard you've started dating the Beauxbatons Champion," said Cedric. "That also true?"
"Er - um, yeah. Yes, that's true."
He side glanced at Lorelei, who smiled and said, "I'm happy for you, Marcus. Make sure to treat her well."
"Of course," said Marcus, who noticed something was off.
Her smile toward him was not a genuine, happy smile. Rather, it looked forced, as it didn't reach her eyes. Not only that, but he felt his heart dropping a bit. For her to cheer him in this manner...it didn't sit well with him, though he had no clue why...
"Well, before we begin, remember that we'll be meeting by the lakeside tonight," said Cedric. "We're pretty lucky that it'll be cloudy tonight, so no one should see us out and about."
"What do you have in mind, Cedric?" asked Marcus.
"Can't say, not yet," said Cedric, who was looking mischevious himself. "Anyway, let's get started!"
"Right!"
Throughout the workout, Marcus couldn't help but think about the Second Task. After all, it looked much closer being on the other side of Christmas and, despite knowing what was in store for him, wasn't too confident about completing it, at least not yet.
After their workout and magical training, Cedric left ahead of them, leaving Marcus and Lorelei walking toward the common room by themselves.
"I never got to ask how your time at the Ball was, Lorelei," said Marcus. "Did you have a good time?"
"Oh, it wasn't too bad," Lorelei simply stated. "I could tell Justin was doing his best to be a good date, and I appreciated it all the same, but - oh, I don't know..."
"What is it?"
"I didn't have the heart to tell him that I wasn't interested in him until the end of the ball when he asked me to be his girlfriend," she said, looking rather ashamed. "He's a nice guy and all, but it just wasn't meant to work out. I can't date a guy that I'm not interested in, after all."
"Well, I'm not exactly the greatest in that aspect of life, either," said Marcus, feeling a bit sheepish. "I guess...one step at a time, right?"
Lorelei looked at him and said, "Just promise me you'll treat Ms. Delacour right. You will, won't you?"
"You have my word, Lorelei," Marcus said, forcing a smile.
"Good," she said as they told the Fat Lady the password and entered the common room.
While Lorelei went back up to the girl's dormitory, Marcus took a seat on the couch nearest to the fireplace, wondering what exactly tonight's training was going to involve...
Hermione was making her way to the common room when she saw-
"Oh, good morning, Lorelei," Hermione said.
Lorelei, who was looking at the ground, diverted her gaze to Hermione and said, "Oh, yes, good morning."
"Just returned from your morning workout, I take it?"
"Oh, yes," Lorelei replied. "Today was leg day along with affinity training. I think I've made some great progress lately, you know."
"I'm glad to hear it," said Hermione. "How much progress is Marcus making?"
"Tons," said Lorelei, who started to (for some reason) choke a bit. "He seems to be getting further and further away, with all the training he does. Some days, it seems like I'll - I'll never catch up, you know?"
"Well, there is a lot riding on him this time around," Hermione stated, though she couldn't help but feel that Lorelei was alluding to something else. "You'll just have to work as hard as you possibly can. I'm sure the gap will close eventually."
"I - I sure hope so," she said, sounding most unlike her. "Um - excuse me."
Hermione then saw Lorelei hurrying to her dormitory, leaving her wanting to try and comfort her somehow, but knew that it was best to leave her alone for now. She instead to continue making her way to the common room...
Marcus was deep in thought when he heard someone say, "Oh, here you are, Marcus. I thought you'd have showered by now."
He looked to see Hermione sitting on his right.
"I thought I'd take a moment to think about some things before I cleaned up," he told her.
"Like what?"
"The Second Task, mostly," he stated.
"Anything else?"
"Well, last night, a little..."
"How did it go?"
"I - er - had a good time," he said hesitantly.
"Oh, so that means you're seeing the Beauxbatons Champion, then?"
"What the -?!" he looked at Hermione in shock, who was wearing a pensive look on her face. "How did you guess that?!"
"Call it an educated guess," said Hermione, who sounded a bit distracted. "Isn't it going to be complicated, being in a relationship with someone who you're competing against?"
"I'm not entirely sure," stated Marcus. "I'm new at this sort of thing, so I'll just have to figure it out when the time comes."
"Speaking of which," Hermione said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You said you've already figured out the clue to the egg?"
"Yeah," said Marcus. "I'm working on my strategy currently."
She looked slightly relieved and said, "Well, thank goodness."
"Did Krum have anything to say in regard to me?"
Hermione looked slightly taken aback with this question.
"Well - er -"
"What did he say?"
Hermione sighed and said, "Honestly, he doesn't trust you. I don't think he sees any problems with you, per se, but he's really passionate about his Quidditch teammates and - well -"
"He took the loss so hard that I'm the scapegoat."
"Pretty much."
"I thought as much," said Marcus. "I don't have any problems with Krum, either. I just wish he'd get over that problem already."
"That won't be easy, you know."
"I'll figure something out, Hermione," said Marcus. "I always do."
He then got up from his seat and made his way to the showers when he ran into -
"Oh, Ron," said Marcus, caught by surprise.
Ron looked at him, then said, "I've got something to say."
Marcus kept silent as Ron continued, "Lorelei told me everything. And - well, I'm sorry. I didn't know that's all what happened."
"I would've thought the same thing, if I was in your shoes," Marcus told him. "Still, you should've clarified things with me."
"I know, mate," said Ron, who certainly looked guilty. "Still, this makes thing complicated for you."
"I'm well aware," said Marcus. "One step at a time, I suppose."
Ron could only nod his head as he made his way past Marcus and down into the common room.
By the time that Marcus was done with his shower, got dressed, got Twink up and fed and made his way into the common room, he saw that Lorelei, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already sitting down in front of the fireplace. Once he joined them, Ron and Harry immediately recounted what they had overheard between Madame Maxime and Hagrid, but Hermione didn't seem all too shocked over the news that Hagrid was a half-giant.
"Well, I thought that he must be," she said, shrugging. "I knew he couldn't be pure giant because they're about twenty feet tall. But, honestly, all this hysteria about giants. They can't all be horrible...It's the same sort of prejudice that people have toward werewolves...It's just bigotry, isn't it?"
Ron and Marcus shared a brief look of disbelief between them. While it was true that anyone who knew Hagrid would know better than to think he was a problem, the same couldn't be said for pure giants, which were responsible for some of history's worst events.
While everyone was focusing on completing the homework they've neglected before Christmas, Marcus sat on his bed, apart from everyone else, and perused through the book his Aunt Em gave him, seeing if there was anything he could possibly use for the second task.
"No...no...oh, most definitely not," he thought, seeing the different techniques in the pages of the book. "Ugh, most of it is best used in combat, not an underwater search quest."
He then flipped to a page halfway between the book and thought, "Oh, what's this? 'Wind Propulsion Technique'?"
He then started from the top and mentally read, "The Wind Propulsion Technique derives from manipulating the air around you, first formed from the palm of your hands to gather the air, then explosively release it to give yourself a speed boost. It can be used to suddenly deter eyesight in battle or - or -?!"
He hardly believed it, but he read it over, just to make sure.
"Or to propel quickly through the water!" he thought, confirming the passage. "This is it! This is the technique I must learn to succeed in the second task and -" He gulped before continuing, "-to survive."
That night, after avoiding the usual nightly security, he stood alongside the Black Lake, the same lake that he'd have to dive down in on the 24th of Feburary.
"Oh, good, you made it," he heard a voice say.
He turned to see that it was Lorelei.
"Of course," said Marcus. "This training involves preparations for the Second Task. Why wouldn't I be there?"
"Perhaps it would be due to fright," said another familiar voice.
Marcus turned to see Cedric walking toward them.
"You know me enough to know better than that," said Marcus. "Regardless, what does our training involve?"
Cedric cleared his throat, looked around to ensure that no one else was watching them, and said, "From now until the evening before the Second Task, we will be enabling the use of the Bubble Head Charm and building up your endurance to the water's temperature."
"The Bubble Head Charm?" asked Marcus.
"When cast, this charm will enable you to breathe underwater," Cedric told him. "It will form what will look like an upside down fishbowl of a bubble around your head. This will act as both a protective barrier around your head from the water and a filtration system of sorts. As long as you're a good swimmer and have this charm in place, you'll have no problems getting to the bottom of the lake and back within an hour."
"Um, actually, Cedric, I've been told by a reliable source that I only have a half-hour," Marcus said with great reluctance.
"Half the alloted time?!" Cedric said in shock. "But the egg said an hour!"
"This handicap is only for me, Cedric, and that's all I can say on the matter," Marcus told him. "Regardless, I have found a technique that'll alleviate this problem. The same concept as the one I use to summon flames."
"And what is this technique called?" Lorelei asked, sounding confused.
"The Wind Propulsion Technique," Marcus stated. "It works the same way as the Summon Flames technique...at least, I think it does. When activated, the release of pent-up wind will propel me forward through the air or through the water, though I'd have to keep this up for an extended period of time."
"Then you'll have to work on it outside of the water and master it before you can implement it through the water," said Cedric. "For now, let's focus on the Bubble Head Charm."
He then got his wand out and said, "The Bubble Head Charm's incantation is Caput Bullae. To correctly say the incantation, you'll have say it like such: Ka-put-a Bul-ai. Really put emphasis on the last syllable of the incantation to sound like the letter I."
Marcus summoned his wand and said, "Very well."
He took a deep breath, held his wand to his head, and said, "Caput Bullae!"
At once, a bubble resembling an upside down fishbowl formed around his head, making his every breath seem fresh and invigorating.
"Well done," said Cedric, smiling. "It's not a hard spell to cast, but it'll be vital to the Second Task. Now, change into swimming gear and get into the water."
Reluctantly, Marcus changed into swimming trunks and a black t-shirt and made his way into the water.
"Holy crap, this water's freaking freezing!" he yelped as he took the first couple of steps.
"That's the point," said Cedric, watching from afar. "We'll need you to adjust to being in the frigid temperature of the water now. That way, come late February, you'll have no problem dealing with it then."
"A-a-and h-h-how-w is-is th-th-that?" asked Marcus, his teeth chattering due to the freezing cold water.
"Even it's only slight, the water temperature will be different in Feburary," said Cedric. "Get used to the waters now, and you'll do much better then."
"G-g-got it-t-t," Marcus stated, who looked at the water and said, "W-w-well, he-her-e I g-g-go."
He then plunged himself underwater.
Thanks to the charm, he didn't have to worry about breathing, which was a relief, due to having to deal with the far bigger issue of the water's temperature.
He dove back above surface and said, "W-w-what the c-c-crap, Cedric?!"
"This may be a bit over the top, but this'll be necessary," said Cedric, who looked a bit concerned. "The last thing you need to worry about is the water's temperature. Overcome that first. By the time you do that, you should be able to master the Wind Propulsion Technique and implement the two together. But, this'll be enough tonight. We have to get back to our respective common rooms before anyone grows suspicious."
"R-r-right," said Marcus, quickly getting out of the water.
For the remainder of the holidays, in the mornings he'd try to use the Wind Propulsion Technique while undergoing physical training and magical betterment while trying to get use to the frigid water temperature in the evenings. While he was very slowly getting used to the water temperature, the same could not be said for the technique he was trying to implement.
The morning before the start of the term, he banged his fist against the wall of the Room of Requirement and said, "Damn it all, how am I not getting this?!"
"Calm down, Marcus!" Cedric told him, finishing his own workout. "There must be something different about this technique than the Summon Flames technique. Explain how you use the Summon Flames technique.
He enhanced his vision before replying, "As absurd as this sounds, I'm able to see the energy in the surrounding air necessary to carry out the Summon Flames tecnnique. I'm able to clearly picture the flames in my head and that's when the energy comes to my hands."
Cedric nodded a few times before saying, "So, essentially, you're able to carry it out due to what you picture in your mind?"
"That's right," said Marcus, not entirely sure where he was going with this.
"Then, you'll have to readjust your mental picture," said Cedric. "Try to picture yourself using the wind gathered in your palms to propel yourself forward. If done correctly, your vision should be able to pick up on the surrounding energy associated with the wind. It'll come down to focus, but you can do it."
"That makes sense," said Marcus, who closed his eyes.
He started to see himself flying through the air, over the castle and enroute to the clouds, without a care in the world.
He opened his eyes and saw that, along with the little red balls of energy, there was now grey balls of energy.
"This, this must be it!" Marcus thought, who concentrated on his mental image once more.
He could feel the energy of the wind gathering at the palm of his hands. More and more, he felt his hands moving toward the front of his body, despite trying to keep them at his sides. When he couldn't tolerate it anymore, he opened his eyes, flexed his fingers, and that when it happened.
He shot forward five feet instantly, surprising him so much that he nearly fell flat on his face.
"That was amazing!" said Lorelei, who watched the entire scene unfold before her.
"Truly spectacular!" said Cedric.
"My god, that took everything I had," Marcus said, looking at his hands in disbelief. "How am I supposed to master this in less than two months?!"
"The important thing is that you have a grasp for the technique, and the only thing you'll have to do is improve and refine it," said Lorelei.
"I think I found out something very interesting," said Cedric.
"Oh? What would that be?" asked Marcus.
"For one reason or another, you're able to use your imagination as a conduit," said Cedric. "In regards to your specific techniques, this is critical. The better you are at using your imagination, the better the technique will be."
"Ah, this does hold some merit," said Marcus. "Well, nowhere to go but up!"
After they finished the morning's workout, they met back up later that night next to the lake for the usual resiliancy training. It was still just as frigid as ever, but Marcus was able to bear it much better due to finally having lit the spark for the fire, so to speak.
Much too soon for his liking, the next day came, which meant the term had finally started. As such, he found himself carrying his books, parchment, and quills alongside the rest of the student body. He found himself thinking about the Second Task once again, but with a much better attitude than before, as he could see his strategy coming into place.
Snow was still thick upon the castle grounds, and the greenhouse windows were covered in condensation so thick that no one could see out of them during Herbology. Nobody was looking foward to Care of Magical Creatures in the slightest in this weather, though Ron did point out that the skrewts would probably warm them up nicely, either by chasing them, or blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin would catch fire.
When they arrived at Hagrid's cabin, however, they found an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.
"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at them as they struggled toward her through the snow.
Marcus immediately felt irritated by this person as he heard Ron ask, "Who're you? Where's Hagrid?"
"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."
"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated loudly.
"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.
If he was getting angry from hearing this witch talk, it was nothing compared to hearing the soft and unpleasant laughter that reached his ears shortly afterwards. He turned to find Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins just joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and none of them looked surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank.
"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and she strode off around the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were shivering. Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed her, looking back over their shoulders at Hagrid's cabin. All the curtains were closed. Was Hagrid in there, alone and ill, by chance?
"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry said.
"Never you mind," she said as though she thought he was being nosy.
"We do mind, though," growled Marcus in anger. "What's up with him?"
Professor Grubbly-Plank acted as though she couldn't hear him, causing him to deepen his anger towards the eldery witch. She led them past the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and toward a tree on the edge of the forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.
Many of the girls "ooooohed!" at the sight of the unicorn.
"Oh it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"
The unicorn was so brightly white it made the snow all around look grey, giving off the same brightness of Marcus' hair. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head.
"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching Harry hard in the chest. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it..."
Marcus was beside himself with anger as he watched her and the girls walking slowly forward toward the unicorn, leaving the boys standing near the paddock fence, watching. The moment Professor Grubbly-Plank was out of earshot, Marcus saw Harry turning to him and Ron, asking, "What d'you guys reckon's wrong with him? You don't think a skrewt -?"
"Oh he hasn't been attacked, boys, if that's what you're thinking," said Malfoy softly. "No, he's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face."
"What are going on about?" growled Marcus.
Malfoy put his hand inside the pocket of his robes and pulled out a folded page of newsprint.
"There you go," he said. "Hate to break it to you, boys..."
He smirked as Harry snatched the page, unfolded it, and read it, with Marcus, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville looking over his shoulder. It was an article topped with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.
DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointment, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against The Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.
An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening."
"I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creatures is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.
"I was just having some fun," he says, before hasitly changing the subject.
As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror.
While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.
In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed close friendships with the boys who brought around You-Know-Who's and The Dark Prince's respective falls from power - thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter and Marcus Williams are unaware of the unpleasant truth about their large friend - but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter and Marcus Williams, along with their fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.
Marcus, having finished reading it, looked at Ron, whose mouth was hanging open.
"How did she find out?" he whispered.
Regardless of how the foul reporter found that, something else was grating away at Marcus.
"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'?" Marcus growled at Malfoy. "What's that bullcrap about him" - he pointed at Crabbe - "getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They don't even have teeth!"
Crabbe was sniggering, apparently pleased with himself.
"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," said Malfoy, his eyes glinting. "Half-giant...and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young...None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all...They'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha..."
"You -" Marcus started to growl.
"Are you paying attention over there?"
Marcus whipped his head to Professor Grubbly-Plank, who raised her voice to ensure that it carried over to the boys.
As the girls were all clustered around the unicorn, stroking it, Marcus said scathingly before he could stop himself, "And what's the point of paying attention to a lesson that doesn't benefit us at all?"
Professor Grubbly-Plank proceeded to walk towards them until she stood in front of Marcus and said, "I don't like your attitude, Mr. Williams."
"And I don't like your sexist lesson plan," retorted Marcus, "But, hey, this world isn't perfect."
"You just lost Gryffindor twenty points, Mr. Williams, for your lack of respect."
"Then perhaps my point didn't come across well enough," said Marcus. "This is what I think of your lesson."
He then proceed to flip her off, his middle finger right in her face.
Her face looked livid as she said in an even tone, "Make that thirty more points from Gryffindor and detention, Mr. Williams. I shall be sure to speak to Professor McGonagall."
"Don't leave out the juicy details, then," said Marcus, his anger quite evident. "Wouldn't want her to be misinformed!"
She proceeded to walk back over to the girls and began enumerating in a loud voice, so that the boys could hear too.
"I hope she stays, that woman!" said Parvati Patil when the lesson had ended and they were all heading back to the castle for lunch. "That's more what I thought Care of Magical Creatures would be like...proper creatures like unicorns, not monsters..."
"What about Hagrid?" Harry said angrily as they went up the steps.
"What about him?" said Parvati in a hard voice. "He can still be gamekeeper, can't he?"
Marcus then heard Hermione say when they entered in the Great Hall, "That was a really good lesson. I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us about uni-"
"Look at this!" Harry snarled as he shoved the Daily Prophet article under Hermione's nose.
Hermione's mouth fell open as she read. Her reaction was exactly the same as Ron's.
"How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid told her?"
"No," said Harry, leading the way over to the Gryffindor table and throwing himself into a chair, no doubt still furious. "He never even told us, did he? I reckon she was so mad he wouldn't give her loads of horrible stuff about Marcus and I, she went ferreting around to get him back."
"Maybe she heard him telling Madame Maxime at the ball," said Hermione quietly.
"We'd have seen her in the garden!" said Ron. "Anyway, she's not supposed to come into school anymore, Hagrid said Dumbledore banned her..."
"Maybe she's got an Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, ladling chicken casserole onto his plate and splashing it everywhere in his anger. "Sort of thing she'd do, isn't it, hide in bushes listening to people."
"Like you and Ron did, you mean," said Hermione.
"We weren't trying to hear him!" said Ron indignantly. "We didn't have any choice! The stupid prat, talking about his giantess mother where anyone could have heard him!"
"And besides, Skeeter's not using an Invisibility Cloak," stated Marcus. "I've been looking all over the place with my enhanced vision whenever I can, and I haven't seen her."
"We've got to go and see him," said Harry. "This evening, after Divination. Tell him we want him back... you do want him back?" he shot at Hermione.
"I - well, I'm not going to pretend it didn't make a nice change, having a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson for once - but I do want Hagrid back, of course I do!" Hermione added hastily, quailing under the combined furious stares of Marcus and Harry.
Just as the four of them were leaving the Great Hall, Marcus heard a voice bark, "Williams!"
Marcus, feeling a foreboding chill coming up his spine, turned to see Professor McGonagall walking toward them with such a furious stare, it surprised him that he wasn't lit on fire from it.
"Oh, heh, Professor McGonagall, good afternoon," Marcus said, trying to play it cool.
"I have just been informed, Mr. Williams, that earlier this morning, you talked back to Professor Grubbly-Plank and then proceeded to shove a very rude gesture in front of her face," she stated with such a fury in her voice that Marcus felt thouroughly frightened. "Is this true?"
"Yes," said Marcus. "And I suppose she failed to mention the fact that her lesson was completely biased towards the girls in the class?"
"It doesn't matter, Williams," she barked, Marcus instictively taking a step back. "As long as she goes out of her way to step in and teach when she doesn't have to, you will at the very least hold your tongue and reserve yourself. Next time, bring up a complaint with me or the teacher of the class in a way that doesn't land you a detention!"
"Yes, ma'am," said Marcus, unable to say anything else.
"You will serve your detention with Professor Sprout on the third Saturday of this month, after dusk," Professor McGonagall informed him. "Don't be late."
As she turned back to the staff table, Hermione said, "You should've know better than to -"
"Don't even start, Hermione," Marcus stated. "Come on, let's go."
That evening, after dinner, the three of them left the castle once more and went down through the frozen grounds to Hagrid's cabin. They knocked, and Fang's booming barks answered.
"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry shouted, pounding on the door. "Open up!"
"Hagrid didn't answer. They could hear Fang scratching at the door, whining, but it didn't open. They hammered on it for ten more minutes; Ron even went and banged on the windows, but there was no response.
"What's he avoiding us for?" Hermione said when they had finally given up and were walking back to the school. "He surely doesn't think we'd care about him being half-giant?"
But it did seem for a fact that Hagrid cared. After all, there were no signs of him all week, not even showing up for mealtimes at the staff table or going about doing his gamekeeping duties. Unfortunately, this meant that Professor Grubbly-Plank continued teaching Care of Magical Creatures classes. Malfoy was gloating at every possible opportunity.
"Missing your half-breed pal?" he kept whispering to Marcus and Harry whenever there was a teacher around, so that he was safe from their retaliation. "Missing the elephant-man?"
There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January, the same night Marcus was to serve his detention. When Harry told of his intent to go, Hermione looked very surprised.
"I just thought you'd want to take advantage of the common room being quiet," she said to him. "Really get to work on that egg."
"Oh I - I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now," Harry told her.
"Have you really?" said Hermione, looking impressed. "Well done!"
But Marcus could instantly tell that he lied to her. It more concerned him that Harry hadn't made any progress with his egg, let alone the Second Task. How was Harry going to take finding out about diving to the depth of the Black Lake and back if he waited until he was too late?
Saturday finally came, the day of the Hogsmeade visit. Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all left the castle together on Saturday and set off through the cold, wet grounds toward the gates. As they passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, they saw Viktor Krum emerge onto the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks. He was very skinny indeed, but apparently a lot tougher than he looked, because he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms, and dived, right into the lake.
"He's mad!" said Harry, staring at Krum's dark head as it bobbed out into the middle of the lake. "It must be freezing, it's January!"
Marcus, however, furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, "Damn, Krum must've figured out the egg's clue, as well. If I'm right in thinking that Fleur has followed suit, the only one that doesn't know is Harry. What the hell is going on?!"
"It's a lot colder where he comes from," said Hermione. "I suppose it feels quite warm to him."
"Yeah, but there's still the giant squid," said Ron. Marcus noticed that there was no note of anxiousness in his rather. Rather, it carried the sound of hopefulness. Hermione picked up on this and frowned.
"He's really nice, you know," she said. "He's not at all like you'd think, coming from Durmstrang. He likes it much better here, he told me...um, well, besides a certain someone, that is."
"Yeah, me," Marcus thought, rolling his eyes.
Ron said nothing in this regard. While he hadn't brought up the topic since the Yule Ball, he did find a miniature arm under his bed on Boxing Day, which looked very reminiscent of a small model figure arm that wore Bulgarian Quidditch robes.
"Say, Marcus, why are you not going down to Hogsmeade with Ms. Delacour?" asked Hermione.
"She had to attend a lesson early this morning," stated Marcus. "She told me that she'd meet me in Hogsmeade in front of the Three Broomsticks. Said something about wanting to check out a store or something like that."
Sure enough, when the three of them made it through Hogsmeade, Marcus heard a familiar voice shout, "Mar-kees!"
He looked behind him to see Fleur, wearing her Beauxbatons uniform with her shawl wrapped around her head.
"Um, well, we'll be seeing you, Marcus!" Hermione cried as she started pushing the boys forward.
Marcus gave a nervous chuckle before turning to Fluer and said, "Well, Fleur, where do you want to go?"
"There is a store I've simply wanted to visit since I've arrived here," stated Fleur with relish. "Come, I'll show you!"
Taking his hand into hers, she led him through Hogsmeade until she found what she was looking for and said, "Oh, look, Mar-kees! There it is! Do you see it?"
Marcus looked where she was pointing and slightly blanched.
"Um, yeah, Fleur," said Marcus. "But why that store?"
"Because they have some of the best fabric in all of Europe!" exclaimed Fleur. "Let's go!"
Marcus was not exactly looking forward to visiting Omnifabrics again, as his last visit was rather unnerving, but since Fleur wanted to go in, he had no choice.
Once they entered in the store, he heard the voice of Mr. Xerks say, "I was wondering when you'd enter my store again, Mr. Williams. Hello there, Ms. Fleur Delacour. Welcome to Omnifabrics!"
As the giant of a man approached them, Fleur looked to Marcus and asked, "You 'ave been here before?!"
"Ah, yes," said Marcus.
"He was here last year for the fitting of his Battle Suit," Mr. Xerks explained. "How's that holding up, by the way?"
"Wonderfully, Mr. Xerks!" Marcus explained.
Mr. Xerks smirked and said, "I'm glad to hear it. It's been one of my greatest works to date. So, Ms. Delacour, you're here to try on some of my products?"
"Oui," she said.
"We'd better get right to it, then," said Mr. Xerks. "Madame Maxime only gave you two hours of free time before the next class begins and you already used 45 mintues of it getting here."
"Comment as-tu -?!" Fleur started to say.
"I'm merely informed, Ms. Delacour," said Mr. Xerks with a straight face. "Now, let's get you up on the platform."
Marcus slightly chuckled and sweatdropped as he thought, "Nothing gets by this guy ever!"
As Fleur was getting measured by a measuring tape acting of its own free will, Mr. Xerks said, "I must admit, you two are by far the most complicated couple I've met."
"How so?" asked Marcus.
"Not only are the both of you Triwizard Champions, but you're both different breeds, one that doesn't usually get along," he stated. "I mean, the Shieldhides and Veela go way back in history, none of it being too pretty."
He was persuing through his catalog of fabrics when Fleur said angrily, "Even with Mar-kees being an American Sheeld-hide, zat does not make him a terrible being! 'E 'as many qualities zat make eem special!"
"Well, it helps that you're only quarter Veela, after all," stated Mr. Xerks, continuing to flip through the pages indifferently. "Anyone who'd be half-veela or more would really struggle being around him without attempting to kill him."
Marcus and Fleur shared a look of concern. He was most certainly caught off guard with this new information, though apart from Fleur, he didn't personally know any other Veelas off the top of his head.
"Though, it all depends on the person's genetic code and personality," continued Mr. Xerks. "There are veelas who are capable of holding their instincts down to where people don't notice anything. They're pretty rare, but they're out there."
"But, to pull off such a thing, zey would have to be incredibly well-trained!" exclaimed Fleur. "Training in which most Veela would not put zemselves through!"
"I wonder who would so such a thing?" asked Mr. Xerks, mostly to himself. "Measuring tape, get over here! You've measured her enough!"
Suddenly, the measuring tape zoomed over to Mr. Xerks, wrapped itself around a pencil, and started to write upon a nearby piece of paper.
"More hassel than he's worth sometimes," stated Mr. Xerks. "By the way, young Mr. Williams, where's your Star Child, Twink? I thought for sure he'd be practically clinging to you."
Not even bothering to know how Mr. Xerks knew about it, Marcus stated, "Ah, well, he wanted to come with me, but Lorelei wanted to spend time with him, so he's currently with her."
"And how come zou didn't think of letting precious lee-tle Twink spend time with moi?" asked Fleur, sounding very offended.
"Sorry about that, Fleur," said Marcus, feeling guilty. "I didn't want you to get distracted by looking after Twink. You're in your final year of schooling as well as competing in the tournament, after all."
"Well, make sure to bring mignonne Twink along ze next time we are on a date," Fleur huffed.
"Of course," said Marcus, not sure of what else to say.
"Ah, here we are!" Mr. Xerks said, showing Fleur a picture of the dress he drew. "What do you think?"
Fleur's eyes shined as she said, "Incroyable! Mar-kees, tell me what you theenk of zis dress!"
Mr. Xerks showed Marcus the picture of dress and immediately found himself blushing.
The dress in question was a simple, yet elegant flowing grey dress that shimmered with movement. He also noticed something else.
"This dress is really beautiful," Marcus remarked. "However, it looks really conforming around - er - certain areas."
Fleur then walked over to Marcus, bent down so that she was next to his right ear and whispered, "Zat - is - ze - point, darling."
Marcus found himself incredibly red in the face from blushing, to which Fleur giggled and kissed his right cheek.
She then turned to Mr. Xerks and asked, "When can I try ze dress on?"
"Actually, you can go in the back and get it put on you," stated Mr. Xerks. "Just follow the instructions listed on the wall and it'll go smoothly."
Fleur then proceeded to go into the back of the store and when she disappeared, Mr. Xerks said, "You know, young Mr. Williams, I could tell you what the results of her measurement were if you were curious."
"Ah, that's okay, I wasn't interested," Marcus told him, clearly lying through his teeth.
"Uh huh, sure," said Mr. Xerks, making Marcus a little on edge. No doubt he had picked up on Marcus' lie.
"There's no denying the complications of your relationship with her, though," continued Mr. Xerks. "How long do you think you can keep this up?"
"What was that?" Marcus stated, feeling a little on edge.
"The truth always reveals itself in the end, Marcus Williams," Mr. Xerks stated, looking at him as if he was staring straight into his soul. "She'll figure it out sooner or later."
Marcus gave Mr. Xerks a death stare, which was more bark than bite as he wasn't too sure he'd win against the giant store owner.
"Mar-kees, what do you think?" he heard Fleur say, who stepped out on the floor.
Marcus' jaw dropped.
The flowing grey dress that shimmered with movement matched perfectly with her hair, and it made her look like some sort of majestic work of art. He also noticed that dress conformed with her hips and chest. The dress was also made with a low cut in the chest area, which made Marcus avert his eyes due to not wanting to be exposed.
However, Fleur walked over to him, bent over to his right ear once more and whispered, "I do not mind, Mar-kees. After all, I want you to."
Marcus felt even more flushed from before, if that was even possible.
She turned to Mr. Xerks and asked, "How much for ze dress?"
"Five hundred galleons," said Mr. Xerks.
To this, Fleur grabbed a sack of galleons from her school uniform, put it on the counter, and said, "Here you go, Meester Xerks."
"Of course," said Mr. Xerks with a smile. "You'll want to change back into your clothes quickly, Ms. Delacour. You only have ten minutes to leave Hogsmeade and still make it back in time."
"Right," said Fleur, who hurried back to get changed.
"I have something else to tell you before you leave my shop, young Mr. Williams," said Mr. Xerks when Fluer once again disappeared into the back.
"What is it?"
"There is a spy in Hogwarts."
Marcus felt flabbergasted, but nonetheless said, "A spy? Who?"
"I don't know for sure," Mr. Xerks stated. "What I do know is you'll need to be on your guard. Considering the circumstances of you and Mr. Potter's entry into the Triwizard Tournament, there is someone pulling the strings. If you fail to stop the perpatrator in time, dire consequences will take place. Keep that in mind."
He felt lost for words. Certainly, he had his suspicions, but for Mr. Xerks to bring it out into the open was unnerving.
He saw Fleur emerge once more, wearing her Beauxbatons uniform, her new dress no doubt in the box she was now carrying.
"Well, this concludes our business, then," Mr. Xerks said with a smirk. "Best of luck to the both of you in the tournament. I look forward to its conclusion."
"Have - have a good day, Mr. Xerks," said Marcus as him and Fleur exited the shop.
As they stood in front of the pathway back to Hogwarts, Fleur said, "Oh, I've got to get going now, unfortunately. We'll have to have a longer date next time with adorable Twink, right, darling?"
"Of course," Marcus responded. "I'll be looking forward to it."
Fleur and Marcus kissed for a couple of seconds before she said, "Au revoir, Mar-kees!" and took off on the path back to Hogwarts.
Marcus smiled for a little bit before looking back to Hogsmeade and said, "Now, if I had to guess, I'd say Harry, Ron, and Hermione are at The Three Broomsticks. So, I'll go there."
He made his way to that pub and was only fifty feet away from entrance when he saw an odd sight.
Ludo Bagman, looking very much in a hurry, was standing in front of a most unpleasant figure: Rita Skeeter, wearing banana-yellow robes, her nails painted shocking pink, and accompained by her paunchy photographer. They were having a short conversation that he didn't pick up until he got closer.
"Mr. Bagman, perhaps an interview on the matter?" she called out to Bagman, who suddenly took off down the street faster than Marcus would have thought possible.
He then turned back to Skeeter, who somehow didn't notice him, and followed the duo into the pub, all the while listening in on the dubious reporter.
"It would appear that he didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights...what nonsense...he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? 'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman...' Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo - we just need to find a story to fit it -"
He was about to say something to the wretched woman when someone else beat him to it.
"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" he heard Harry say loudly.
Marcus looked to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at a nearby table, all giving Skeeter death stares. When Rita Skeeter looked at him, her bespectacled eyes widened.
"Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join -?"
"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick," said Harry furiously. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"
Rita Skeeter raised her heavily penciled eyebrow.
"Our readers have a right to the truth, Harry. I am merely doing my -"
"WHO CARES IF HE'S HALF-GIANT?!" Marcus roared behind her. "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM!"
The whole pub had gone quiet from Marcus' outburst. Madame Rosmerta was staring over from behind the bar, apparently oblivious to the fact that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.
Rita Skeeter turned to face Marcus, her smile slightly flickering for a second, but then got it back quickly.
"Why, Marcus, I didn't see you there!" she said, all the while snapping open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulling our her Quick-Quotes Quill and said, "Perhaps you could give me an interview about the Hagrid you know, Marcus? The man behind the muscle? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it."
"Absolutely not," growled Marcus through gritted teeth.
"Then perhaps the reason behind why you're dating the Beauxbatons Champion, Ms. Fleur Delacour, then?" she asked, her tone of voice taking a darker turn. "Perhaps it was her bewitching beauty or maybe dating her will give you the edge you need to win the tournament single-handedly, using her as a stepping stone to -?!"
Faster than anyone could comprehend, her quill and parchment lit up in flames and smoldered to the ground, and Rita Skeeter found herself staring at flames dancing in front of her face, flames in which was resting in the palm of Marcus' right hand.
"I don't care who sees me do it, wench," stated Marcus in such a dark tone he never used before. "Make one wrong step against me, and I'll send you straight to Hell."
As Marcus dissipated the flames, Hermione abruptly stood up, her butterbeer clutched like a grenade.
"You horrible woman," she said, through gritted teeth, "you don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman -"
"Sit down, you silly girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," said Rita Skeeter coldly, her eyes hardening as they fell upon Hermione. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl...not that it needs it -" she added, eyeing Hermione's bushy hair.
"Let's go," said Hermione, "c'mon, Marcus - Harry - Ron..."
They left; many people were staring at them as they went. Marcus looked back to see that Rita Skeeter pulled out a fresh Quick-Quote Quill, zooming back and forth over a fresh bit of parchment on the table.
"She'll be after you next, Hermione," said Ron in a low and worried voice as they walked quickly back up the street.
"Let her try!" said Hermione defiantly; she was shaking with rage. "I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? Oh, I'll get her back for this. First Harry, then Hagrid, now Marcus..."
"You don't want to go upsetting Rita Skeeter," said Ron nervously. "I'm serious, Hermione, she'll dig up something on you -"
"My parents don't read the Daily Prophet. She can't scare me into hiding!" said Hermione, now striding along so fast that it was all the boys could do to keep up with her. The last time Marcus saw her in a fit of rage like this, she went and caved in Malfoy's face. "And Hagrid isn't hiding anymore! He should never have let that excuse for a human being upset him! Come on!"
Breaking into a run, she led them all the way back up the road, through the gates flanked by winged boars, and up through the grounds to Hagrid's cabin.
The curtains were still drawn, and they could hear Fang barking as they approached.
"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being -"
The door opened. Hermione said, "About t -!" and then stopped, very suddenly, due to finding herself face-to-face, not with Hagrid, but with Albus Dumbledore.
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.
"Oh, yeah, this isn't awkward or anything," Marcus thought to himself.
"We - er - we wanted to see Hagrid," said Hermione in a rather small voice.
"Yes, I surmised as much," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Why don't you come in?"
"Oh...um...okay," said Hermione.
She, Marcus, Ron and Harry went into the cabin; Fang launched himself upon Harry the moment he entered, barking madly and trying to lick his ears. While Harry was fending off Fang, Marcus looked around.
Hagrid was sitting at his table, where there were two large mugs of tea. He looked an absolute mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes swollen, and he had gone to the other extreme where his hair was concerned; far from trying to make it behave, it now looked like a wig of tangled wire.
"Hi, Hagrid," said Harry.
"'Lo," he said in a very hoarse voice.
"More tea, I think," said Dumbledore, closing the door behind Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, drawing out his wand, and twiddling it; a revolving tea tray appeared in midair along with a plate of cakes. Dumbledore magicked the tray onto the table, and everybody sat down. There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore said, "Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"
Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her and continued, "Hermione, Marcus, Harry and Ron still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."
"Of course we still want to know you!" Harry said, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow - sorry, Professor," he added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.
"I have gone temporary deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling.
"Er - right," said Harry sheepishly. "I just meant - Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that - woman - wrote about you?"
As Marcus watched two fat tears leaking out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and falling slowly into his tangled beard, he could barely keep himself together. Here was the nicest, kindest soul he ever met so far in his life, only wanting to help others and do his best, despite everything that has happened to him, and he was reduced to isolating himself in his cabin and miserably crying because of something that he had absolutely no control over. Marcus used every fiber of his being not to cry, his hands balled into fists.
"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, still looking carefully up at the ceiling. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it -"
"Not all of 'em," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."
"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," said Dumbledore, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"
"Yeh - yeh're not half-giant!" said Hagrid croakily.
"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" Harry said furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"
"An excellent point," said Professor Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery..."
"Come back and teach, Hagrid," said Hermione quietly, "please come back, we really miss you."
Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard.
Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."
Dumbledore left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door had shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into his dustbin-lid-sized hands. While Hermione kept patting his arm, Marcus realized that a tear was streaking down his left cheek. He quickly wiped it away and, when he was finished with that, Hagrid finally looked up, his eyes very red indeed, and said, "Great man, Dumbledore...great man..."
"Yeah, he is," said Ron. "Can I have one of these cakes, Hagrid?"
"Help yerself," said Hagrid, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Ar, he's righ', o' course - yeh're all righ'...I bin stupid...my ol' dad woulda in ashamed o' the way I've bin behavin'..." More tears leaked out, but he wiped them away more forcefully, and said, "Never shown you a picture of my old dad, have I? Here..."
Hagrid got up, went over to his dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree behind him, but his face was beardless, young, round, and smooth - he looked hardly older than eleven.
"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," Hagrid croaked. "Dad was dead chuffed...thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum...well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really...but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year...
"Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job...trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances...tha's what sets him apar' from other Heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'...well...all tha' respectable. But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh...there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say - I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed,' my ol' dad used ter say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with.' An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones...I'll give her big bones."
Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at one another nervously; Marcus would rather take on fifty Blast-Ended Skrewts in a fight to the death rather than admitting to Hagrid that he knew about his conversation with Madame Maxime. Luckily, the visual exchange went unnoticed by Hagrid, for he was still talking, unaware that he brought up something odd.
"Yeh know wha', Harry?" he said, looking up from the photograph of his father, his eyes very bright, "when I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum and Dad gone, an' you was feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember? Not sure yeh were really up to it..."
He looked at Marcus and said, "Luckily, you had a friend in Marcus here. And now look at yeh, boys! School champions!"
He looked at them both for a moment and said, very seriously, "Yeh know what I'd love, Harry, Marcus? I'd love yeh both ter win, I really would. It'd show 'em all...yeh don' have to be pureblood to do it. Yeh don' have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ', lettin' anyone in as long as they can do magic. How you doing with those eggs, boys?"
"Great," said Harry. "Really great."
"Fantastic, even," Marcus added.
Hagrid's miserable face broke into a wide, watery smile.
"Tha's the way, boys...you show 'em, Harry, Marcus, you show 'em. Beat 'em all."
As they were making their way back to the castle, Marcus and Harry were walking behind Ron and Hermione.
"I don't care how you figure out that egg, Harry," he told him in the most serious manner he could muster. "Figure it out somehow, because I will not see Hagrid be miserable like that again."
Harry only vaugely nodded, no doubt being lost in thought.
Believing in Harry, Marcus then thought, "If nothing else, I'll win this tournament for Hagrid's sake."
And this concludes this chapter of HP: The Path of Trials! Feel free to leave a review on the story, as this will help me refine my writing skills. Also, if you have any questions you'd like to ask me, do not hesitate to send me a PM. Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of HP: The Path of Trials!
